Humax 5000T Freeview Play box gives you four channel recording, Netflix and more

Humax has updated its Freeview Play offerings with the new FVP-5000T, a replacement for the 4000T that launched in 2015 alongside the birth of Freeview Play.

Freeview Play has come a long way in the interim period. In 2015 it was playing second fiddle to the superior YouView offering, but we've seen significant adoption by several TV manufacturers like Panasonic and LG to bolster Freeview Play's position.

The new Humax 5000T offers the fully integrated live TV and catch-up proposition that defines Freeview Play, meaning you'll be able to see what's on, record future programmes, pause and rewind live TV, as well as scroll back in time to see what you missed, with the ability to hit play to jump straight to that programme via the appropriate catch-up services.

As such, this is a box that offers BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 integrated into the EPG as well as accessible as stand-alone apps. There's additional content (subscription required) available from Netflix, as well as UKTV and YouTube.

The inclusion of YouTube means that you'll also be able to play content from Google Play (once you've logged in).

Humax

Humax has redesigned the interface on the 5000T compared to the 4000T model, as well as made the design a little more conventional. There's no faux leather with stitching on this model.

This is a standard DVB-T2 set-top box, so you'll get all the free-to-air channels from Freeview Play in both SD and HD formats, but there's no provision for UHD or 4K content.

The 5000T will be available in a number of different storage capacities spanning 500GB (125 hours HD), 1TB (250 hours HD) and 2TB (500 hours HD), giving you plenty of space for your recordings.

The box has three tuners with Humax saying that you'll be able to record four channels and watch a fifth, depending on what channels these are.

In terms of connectivity you get HDMI and optical on the rear, with RCA connectors for video and audio, but there's no Scart on this model. There are 2x USB so you can browse and play other content, as well as Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity to enable the streaming services.

Humax says that the 5000T is designed to be simple, it comes with everything you need in the box (cables included), so should be a quick case of plug and play.

The Humax FVP-5000T will be available in October at common retailers for £229.